Immunodeficiency Information and Courses from MediaLab, Inc.
These are the MediaLab courses that cover Immunodeficiency and links to relevant pages within the course.
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| Which one of the following are not associated with a polyclonal (broadbased) increase in gamma globulins? | View Page |
| Each of the following factors has led to the current increase in incidence of listeriosis except: | View Page |
| Infectious Diseases Molecular methodologies can be useful in the detection of a variety of diseases that are important public health issues such as:Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) Neisseria gonorrhoeae (GC)Human papillomavirus (HPV)Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV)Cytomegalovirus (CMV)In many clinical laboratories, traditional methods have been replaced by molecular methodologies because testing can occur for several pathogens in a single specimen. This is termed multiplex testing. | View Page |
| Retrovirus The Human Immunodeficiency Virus type-1 (HIV) belongs to the Family Retroviridae.In HIV, RNA is the template for the synthesis of DNA. This differs from most cellular biochemistry in which DNA is used as the template for the synthesis of RNA.The enzyme that transcribes the RNA for the synthesis of DNA is called reverse transcriptase.Because of the enzyme's activity, HIV is known as a retrovirus - retro implying reverse. | View Page |
| Introduction Acquired Immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV). When HIV enters a person's bloodstream, it attacks and kills the T-helper lymphocytes, which are essential to the body in fighting off infections. As these cells are lost, so is the body's ability to fight infection. Possibly months after the initial infecting episode, an infected person develops a mononucleosis-like illness lasting a week or two. A person may then be free of symptoms for years. But as the T-helper cells die, the person becomes vulnerable to many serious infections. The expected mortality is 100%, and there is no vaccine available to develop specific immunity. | View Page |
| You Are At Risk! As a healthcare worker, you come into contact with materials that may contain bloodborne pathogens. These are infectious organisms, usually viruses, which live in human blood and body fluids.The most important ones are: Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) | View Page |
| What causes HIV Infection? HIV infection is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus.The infection occurs when HIV enters a person's bloodstream, where it attacks and kills the helper T-cells. Helper T-cells are part of a group of white blood cells, known as lymphocytes, which are essential to the body in fighting off infections.As the numbers of these cells decreases, so is the body's ability to fight infection. | View Page |
| What happens after HIV infection? Days to weeks after exposure, the patient may begin to complain of fever, headache and fatigue. This may also be accompanied by a rash.For the first several months after the infection, the exposed individual maybe HIV antibody negative - this is called a "window" period.The disease may remain silent in the patient for months to years even with no treatment.At some point in time, when the immune system is weakened enough, the patient will develop opportunistic infections and be classified as having AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). | View Page |
| Category A Definition and Examples A category A infectious substance is in a form that is capable of causing permanent disability or life-threatening or fatal disease in otherwise healthy humans or animals when exposure to it occurs. Exposure would occur if the substance were released from its protective packaging and a human or animal came into contact with it. Some examples of category A infectious substances include: Bacillus anthracis (cultures only) Brucella abortus (cultures only) Brucella melitensis (cultures only) Burkholderia mallei (cultures only) Clostridium botulinum (cultures only) Dengue virus (cultures only) Escherichia coli, verotoxigenic (cultures only) Ebola virus Francisella tularensis (cultures only) Hantaviruses causing hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome Herpes B virus (cultures only) Human immunodeficiency virus (cultures only) Lassa virus Mycobacterium tuberculosis (cultures only) Poliovirus (cultures only) Rabies and other lyssaviruses (culture only) Shigella dysenteriae type I (cultures only) West Nile virus (cultures only) Yersinia pestis (cultures only)This is not an exhaustive list. Sometimes, deciding on the classification of an infectious substance requires professional judgement and involves knowing the medical history or symptoms of the source patient or animal and/or knowing the local epidemiological conditions at the time the patient specimen or culture was obtained. If there is doubt as to whether or not a substance meets the criteria of category A, it must be treated as a category A substance for shipping. | View Page |
| Important bloodborne pathogens The most important bloodborne pathogens are: Hepatitis B and C & Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
Hepatitis B is very infectious via the blood-borne route. 30% of needle-sticks from patients who are Hepatitis B will result in infection.
Hepatitis C is much more common in the United States.
HIV is rarely transmitted via needle-stick injury. Nevertheless, utmost care is needed, because of its very serious nature. HIV is not transmitted by casual contact.
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